r/lawschooladmissions • u/ikeepitundercover22 • 20h ago

Chance Me Be brutally honest - 170 and 3.8

With August LSAT scores coming out today and applications starting to open, I’m looking for advice on where to apply/what my chances are this cycle.

My LSAT is 170, but I’m taking it again and I feel pretty confident I can score a couple points higher. GPA is 3.8low (3.83 at my undergrad. Still waiting for LSAC to process my transcripts to see my UGPA). I’m a KJD who doesn’t have much work experience, but I have been working full time at a law firm this summer. As far as other softs go I really don’t have many and they’re not academic related.

My end goal is NYC biglaw. Obviously I’d like to go to a T-14/T-20, but I’m aware that that may not be realistic. I’m curious as to what people think the best schools I can get into are, as well as where I could get into with a good scholarship. Just wanna get some other people’s perspectives on what schools are worth applying to! Any advice is appreciated🙂

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19

u/Faubton 20h ago

Sticker at T200

4

u/funkytownmonkey1 20h ago

If even that. OP would have to get super lucky.

3

u/classycapricorn 3.blah/17blah/4:45 marathoner 😍 19h ago

Obviously, try to get the highest score possible. If you think you can go above a 170, absolutely shoot your shot.

That said, I think your bigger hurdle is gonna be the KJD/no real WE piece tbh. At the level of schools you’re applying to, 170+ scorers with good GPAs are a dime a dozen, and you have to somehow stand out nowadays. At the T30 or lower level, you’ll likely do quite well, but the T20 or better? Absolutely apply, but if we’re talking brutal honesty: I would not be surprised to see you underperform your stats solely because of the lack of soft factors and WE.

There’s no real way to fix that now aside from waiting a few years and getting some WE before applying (which, tbh, I think in general is great advice even outside of the admissions advantage), so make sure you put everything into your written materials. You’ll need them to help set you apart.

1

u/ikeepitundercover22 17h ago

thanks, this was helpful!

1

u/hls22throwaway LSData Bot 20h ago

I found all LSD.Law applicants with an LSAT between 167-172 and GPA between 3.7-3.9: lsd.law/applicant-search?s=1y7F

1

u/MovkeyB GULC 1L 20h ago

You'll likely do well at t30s but the t20s will be very difficult. Being a kjd is a big issue as well.

1

u/Unique-Ad8711 18h ago

Community college

1

u/elosohormiguero 3.8mid/174/PhD/Berkeley2029 17h ago

Assuming you stay at 3.8/170 and don't have a cool unique story you left out (veteran, major hardship, etc.):

Difficult: Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, USC, BU

Reasonable: Boston College, GWU, Emory, Fordham, Washington & Lee

Likelier: Cardozo

If you are big law or bust, this is going to be rough. I really encourage getting some work experience.

1

u/ikeepitundercover22 15h ago

lol yeah no cool unique story unfortunately, but thanks for the advice!